First real post after introduction

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Toekneejo

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Mar 10, 2015
45
Houston TX
I apologize if this is in the wrong forum. Looking at the titles I couldn't decide...... But here goes... I explained in greater details in my introduction what is going on, if you need more info. I just turned my pump on and am planning on leaving it running 24/7 until Monday evening (which is when my TF-100 is supposed to be arriving via UPS). So on Monday evening I will test the quality of my water in either this section or the test section, my question for now is; is 48 hours of running it 24/7 long enough to test the water? Thank you I hope I don't ask too dumb of questions but I really am in the dark here. So again Thanks!


Ok sorry one more question last year my filter was reading 5lbs now it isn''t even reading or is so low it doesn't show? I was encouraged to buy another gauge but this is a new set up last year and I didn't think I needed it yet and would order it upon this going out, any ideas?

And yet another question with my size of pool I think it would be nice to have more than one return and yet that is all that came with it. Is there anyway to add another?

How about one more.... should I go ahead and buy chlorine before Monday and if so, I know until we get the test #'s it is only a guess but are we talking 1,5,10 or more gallons? I use a SWG once I slam this beast.
 
You only need the pump running for about an hour to get accurate test results.

Are you running the pump on high speed when checking the gauge? Mine reads basically 0 on low also.

Yes there are likely ways to add more returns, also not sure it would be worth the hassle. I am sure there are threads that discuss this if you search.

The amount of chlorine you need is dependent on whether you have to SLAM or not. I don't know because you did not keep your story together. It is usually best to ask all related questions together in the same thread.

Have you started playing with PoolMath to see how much of each chemical you may have to add? In normal maintenance, you are likely looking at about 1/2 gallon of chlorine every day.
 
Ok so this was my post in the introduction section.....
I'm not sure even where to start. We had to go out of town for work this fall and instead of winterizing we left it up for our grown children to enjoy. Upon returning in December it had been neglected and we panicked so we drained the pool (approx. 23,000 gallons). We cleaned all the walls and refilled it just below the plumbing and placed a tarp over it. The tarp ended up ripping off of the pool a month later and we have left the pool sitting there since most of the leaves had already fallen. Now it is getting close to reopening it. My questions revolve around do I shock it first? Do I shock with chlorine? Then clean the sides while it is shocking? When do I put in my cyanuric acid and salt? We have the aqua-rite T cell? Or can I just super chlorinate after adding the chemicals? The pool is not in terrible shape at this time but it definitely needs cleaning in order for it to be crystal clear. I do have a test kit but right now it is nothing but water???? I think this is good place to start so thanks for any advice.

It was explained to me that I would need the TF-100 and would need to slam before adding back my chemicals. The water doesn't look that bad but it has been stagnant since December.

It was also explained to me that with me living near Houston I probably would want to get the filter running because the temps are getting higher than 60 now.

I have been reading thru the pool school now also so I understand the basics but I think that only makes me dangerous now. :)

Yes I have my pump on high
 
What kind of test kit do you have? If it is not one of the like the TF-100 (see my siggy below for the link for them) make sure to order one yesterday.

Get the water up where it should be to run the pump.

Get some bleach in the pool to start getting it clear.

A good test kit is really the only thing that will help you right now.

Make sure to read this link http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl

THAT is how to "shock" the pool. We call it SLAM.

Good luck and let us know if you have any questions after you read and order.

Kim
 
Thank you I have read and have ordered :) It's suppose to be here Monday that is why I am asking these questions now. I don't normally add chlorine (never have actually since we installed the pool with the SWG just last summer) so I wasn't sure if I should arbitrarily add some now to get it up to non-SWG specs or if I should wait til the TF-100 gets here on Monday? Also as for the PSI question I figured it out and have just cleaned my filter and it is currently sitting at 5lb PSI.
 
If you got below freezing, there's a good chance your gauge is wrong.

You don't need to run the pump that much - there's no chemicals to mix right now. It's just costing you electricity.

Until the kit arrives, you can work on brushing and vacuuming. When you see that your test kit is "out for delivery" on the tracking website, you can start the pump then.

Since it's a fresh fill, you can be sure there's no CYA in the water. There won't be any in tap water, so unless you've added stabilizer or pucks or "shock" powder, it will be zero. Don't even waste the reagent to test it if there won't be any there.

First step: test everything, except possibly CYA as above.
2nd step, adjust pH if needed. If TA is incredibly low, that may have to be fixed first. It's highly unlikely, though.
3rd step: While waiting for acid/washing soda to correct the pH and mix (30 minutes or so) weigh out enough stabilizer to get you to about 30. Tie it up in a sock or nylon and set it in the skimmer or suspend it in front of a return. Do not pour it in the skimmer so it collects in the filter. If you need to backwash, you will lose it all.
4th step: By the time you're done with that sock business, recheck pH. If good, go on. If not, adjust some more.
5th step: Assume you have 30 CYA already and bring the pool up to shock level of 12 using liquid bleach. If you're buying jugs of it from the grocery store, get the plain unscented no special-features 8.25%. At least ten gallons.

Move on over to the SLAM process how-to in Pool School. When you've achieved the three results you want
1) The water is clear - that's after brushing. Clear all the way down and along the walls, too.
2) The CC is .5 or less
3) The overnight loss is less than 1
You're there!

At that point, you let FC drop below 10, test and readjust pH if needed, add enough CYA to get you up to 70 or so with your SWG, and add salt. Keep the FC up around 5 until you get the SWG running, and then follow the recommendations for setting the chemistry. The key is to get it clean and balanced as a bleach pool, and then turn it into a saltwater generator pool. The SWG will not be able to raise FC to shock level nor keep it there. Until the CYA dissolves, it might not even be able to maintain a safe minimum FC, even on boost.

If your water is not green and murky, it could be done in a couple days easily. You might only have to raise FC up to shock level once or twice before you reach the finish line. If you end up with leftover bleach, hang onto it. If you have a pool party or some kind of accident, you can deal with it instantly with bleach rather than wait for the SWG to catch up.
 
ok next question and this one may be silly but I have a 21x42 54" sides AG the water is still cold is there any way to clean the walls without having to get into the pool? I have one of those kreepy krawlers and a telescopic brush along with a manual vacuum but none seemed to do the work last year without me right there with it? I don't mind the manual labor but not into being cold and wet if possible. Thanks again
 
Toekneejo said:
ok next question and this one may be silly but I have a 21x42 54" sides AG the water is still cold is there any way to clean the walls without having to get into the pool? I have one of those kreepy krawlers and a telescopic brush along with a manual vacuum but none seemed to do the work last year without me right there with it? I don't mind the manual labor but not into being cold and wet if possible. Thanks again
Click to expand...
Wall whale brush. It has a wing that provides the inward pressure as you push down.
98xc600-WallWhale.jpg
 

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ok I may need to start another thread but I just tested my water and not sure where to go from here.....all chlorine is obviously at 0 so is CYA
CH 250
TA 160
PH 8.2
I wasn't expecting this. Do I need to correct this before adding CYA and slamming? If so how basically where do I go with these numbers?
 
Yes! You need to get the PH down to 7.2 BEFORE the SLAM. You cannot get a true result for PH with FC over 10 so.........

-Get PH down
-Start SLAM
-add CYA to at least 30 to protect it from the sun
-Brush the sides at least every day. The brush Richard showed you is great. Until you get like it just use your old brush.

To brush my above ground pool I stand on a block I put on the side of my pool that does not have a deck on it. That way I do not tend to get as wet burrrrrrrrrrrrrr. On the side with the deck it is not an issue. I just brush standing on the deck.

I hope this helps

Kim
 
ok thank you to both of you. I will add enough CYA to bring up to 30? I am heading out to buy muriatic (forgive the spelling) acid. Is there a rule as to when I recheck the TA? My husband is building an aerator as I type to bring the ph back up. Am I missing anything?

Kim thank you for the additional info on the cleaning also.
 
Forget about TA until everything is perfect and you are bored. Just lower the pH to the lower 7s before the SLAM. When the SLAM is complete, just maintain the pH in the 7s and the TA should come down on its own. No need to try to actively lower the TA until you want something to do.
 
Do you know about the sock "trick" for adding the CYA?

Just in case you do not-

-Get the biggest sock you have (I use husband's tube socks)-
-Pour CYA into sock about 3/4 full
-Tie shoelace taken from poor husband's shoes LOL around neck of the sock
-Hang sock in front of the return. I use a bungee cord as it has the hooks on the end to hook it onto the edge of the cap

You can squeeze the sock to hurry up the CYA. Remember that the CYA will not show up on the test for about a week. Go with the idea that you HAVE added enough CYA to bring it to 30.

Kim
 
The thing with putting it in the skimmer is that it goes to the filter first instead of straight into the water.

If you have to backwash for any reason you will lose all of the CYA you just added.

I also do not like the idea of it going through the pump just in case.............

Kim
 
I gotcha I put it on a bungee in front of the return. I added a gallon of muriatic acid 31.45% Do you know when I should retest the PH and should I check the TA? If the PH is within the 7.2 to 7.8 range can I go ahead and start the slam? Sorry for being so ignorant :(
 

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